Waypoint Ministry is a Christ-Centered drug & alcohol Regeneration Program located in Dahlonega, GA.

Our Staff

Executive Director

Chris Gillhouse

I’ve had a heart for this ministry since I first started helping here as a volunteer. Later I joined the Board. In 2012 it became really clear that God was nudging me to make a change from the corporate world to being a part of Waypoint full time. Robin, my wife, felt the same way.

I worked in commercial construction as a senior project manager. I started in residential construction, working with my hands. Later in management, I worked a lot with people – everyone from temp laborers to CEOs of large companies. My work spanned the full range of a project, from the beginning phases of estimating, through to contracts, and managed all the way through. These experiences all play a part in my role at Waypoint.

When I first felt God calling me to make this change, I challenged him over and over that it wasn’t really me He was looking for. But He kept giving us signs that this is what He was calling Robin and me to do. So I came on as Executive Director in December 2012.

God’s given me a vision for what I feel He wants to see Waypoint become. I have a real passion for helping men deal with their addiction and also showing them what it means to have a relationship with Christ.

Robin is as involved here as I am. She is called the “Waypoint mom.” It’s neat to see her heart for this ministry and her perspective; to hear her talk about her vision for it and see how it aligns with what my mind is thinking and how we bounce things off each other. We have been married over 33 years now. God is showing the men what that kind of stability in marriage looks like. He is teaching them what it means to have that kind of relationship and how you walk that out.

What I love about Waypoint is the men. I like working with the men through their growth and their struggles and seeing how God works in them to change them. I’m blown away by how open and honest they are. It’s amazing to work in an environment where God is the primary focus all the time. I enjoy being able to utilize life experiences to try and help others.

I also appreciate seeing the hearts of the people who support Waypoint, and how they have a heart for this ministry and what they see happening in these men’s lives. When I came on board here full time, what struck me the most is how people step up all the time – that they believe in this program enough to do whatever they’ve got to do, to help Waypoint succeed.

God is the key to the success of the men at Waypoint. Every day here, I’m reminded how much He works in people’s lives to change them … when they’re willing to obey and listen, when they’re willing to surrender.

“We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” Romans 3:22-24

Director of Marketing and Fundraising

David Cook

I am a graduate of the Waypoint Regeneration Program and also the Servant Leadership Training Program. I am responsible for outreach, fundraising, event planning, and food service at Waypoint. I have graduated with a certificate in Elijah House Prayer Ministry, and I am currently studying to become a Certified Addiction Counselor.

I also am a graduate of Appalachian State University with a BSBA in Finance. I had a corporate career with Baxter Healthcare and was a successful small business owner for over 20 years. I have been on staff at Waypoint for more than two years and I was previously responsible for the Thrift Store operation before I moved into my current position.

After struggling with an addiction to alcohol for many years, in an out of recovery programs, I hit my bottom in June of 2012, spending a week in ICU with acute alcohol poisoning. Coming to Waypoint at that time, I had always felt I had a good relationship Christ until I read 1 John 2:3-6. It was then I realized I had been a fake Christian my whole life. On that day, December 27, 2012, I finally, fully surrendered to my Savior, Jesus Christ and found a whole new life. I serve Him today through Waypoint Ministry, ministering to men with addictions to help them find the Savior I know today and have “life more abundantly”.

Waypoint Thrift Store Lead

Victor Bodley

My life was filled with rejection and anger for as long as I could remember. As a child I was never given the security that love brings to the heart. In this neglect, I found it very easy to not care.

At the age of 19, I met my wife and three years later we got married. We stayed married for 20 years and then it all fell apart. After the divorce, I lived a rebellious lifestyle for the next 16 years. I got myself involved with drugs and along with that the wrong crowd. These people had extremely low moral character. My life became worse than before.

In July 2014, I got out of the hospital for collapsed lungs. Shortly after that I came to Waypoint, because my family had had enough worrying about me. It took some time here, but I began to hear from God and over time I got a strong desire to hear from Him more. I found peace and forgiveness through my relationships here, Jesus, and God’s Word. My life has dramatically changed for the best. My reason for living is restored. I not only feel lighter in my heart, but I have been given the desire to share His Word and love with many others. That is The Gospel. I have been given the gift of life again and I make the choice everyday to rejoice in it through Jesus Christ.

“Go into the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. ” 1 John 3:16-18

Intake Coordinator

Miles Rapier

I started using drugs and alcohol in my early teens. I used drugs to fill a void in my home life. I quickly found my identity in selling drugs. On multiple occasions, I would seek attention from my family by getting arrested. I ended up dropping out of college, because of my addiction. I would work dead end jobs to support my habit. Due to my decisions to pursue drugs, I quickly become homeless. Shortly after I was consumed with suicidal thoughts and continued to fall into a deep dark hole of loneliness and hopelessness. After exhausting any and all resources, I reached out to my mom and she finally allowed me to stay with her. I pleaded with God to save and deliver me from my own misery.

I came to Waypoint in the fall of 2015. They accepted me with open arms and showed me love that I had never experienced before. The program was patient with me and taught me a new way of living through the Gospel. God delivered me from my past by sending His one and only Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross. On July 5th, 2016 I gave my heart to Him where He would break the spirit of depression and suicide off of me. I experienced love, peace, and a true heart change for myself and others. I have walked on the path of forgiveness, forgiving my father, myself, and God.

After graduating my first year at Waypoint. I felt a strong calling to give back and decided to stay for another year in the Servant Leadership in Training Program. In August of 2017 I was asked to become the intake coordinator here at Waypoint. I felt such a honor that God would want me. Now through His eyes and the Holy Spirit I can reach out to other broken men and attempt to help others. I enjoy sharing with others what God has done in my life especially those individuals coming into the program. Jesus saved my life. Now I am filled with the desire to lead others to Him.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

Office Manager

Michael Tucker

I grew up in a small family in Cumming, Georgia. I went to Lanier Technical College to obtain my bachelor’s in Computer Science. I began to struggle with alcohol in my early twenties. It quickly progressed into drugs which lead to dropping out of college. As you know the story gets a lot worse. I spiraled out of control with alcohol and drugs for the next decade. I enjoyed the feelings from the adrenaline created from my addictive lifestyle.

I am a graduate of the Waypoint Regeneration and the Servant Leadership Training Program. Waypoint Ministry became a safe place for me to stop and re-evaluate where I was at. I always felt the pressure of a higher calling on my life. At Waypoint, I learned first who I am not, and more of who I am.

I am responsible for Waypoint’s website and social media. I also teach Regeneration Class, which is phase 2 of the program. I plan on returning to school to obtain a college degree and work towards becoming a Certified Addiction Counselor. I am an active member at The Church @ War Hill in Dawsonville, Georgia. I find true peace and joy in ministering to the men of Waypoint Ministry and the local community of Dahlonega.

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22

Administration

David Kidd

After completing Waypoint Ministry’s Regeneration and Servant Leadership Training Program, I felt God was calling me to stay with the ministry. I wasn’t sure what that would look like at the time, but I went ahead and accepted a position on staff in March 2018. It’s been incredible to see what God has done and is continuing to do in the amount of time I have been here. He has opened doors and cultivated restoration in my life that I didn’t even know was possible.

I’ve wrestled with drug addiction for the past 10 years. After countless attempts to beat it on my own, while in the program, I was finally able to come to a place where I recognized my need for Jesus in a real way. I was then able to begin to make the transition from “religion” to “relationship” and that’s when God started to work in my heart and really begin to change me.

I have the opportunity to work here in an administrative capacity, help teach class and give back to the men what God has given me, while continuing to learn at the same time. I am also able to work with the men when they help set up for events at the Lanier Tech Forsyth Conference Center throughout the week.

I am extremely grateful for the support of my family, the people that helped me throughout the time that I have been here at Waypoint, and most importantly to God for His endless grace and love in my life. It is because of those things that I am excited to continue to be a part of this ministry and what God is doing here.

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” Ephesians 1:7

Assistant Thrift Store Manager

Stephen Pratt

I am from Atlanta, Georgia. I grew up in a broken home where drugs and alcohol were present, along with parents that always fought. As a child growing up with fear and confusion on what a home dynamic was supposed to look like, I knew that what I was experiencing was not typical. I began searching for anything to fill the void in my heart. At the age of 12 I began using drugs. This covered up my hurts and fears, which led me to feel accepted. As I got older, I never dealt with all the emotions I felt growing up. I reached a point where I knew I needed help and that it was going to take something bigger than myself.

In June 2016 I came to Waypoint Ministry. God’s love soon began to fill the void in my heart. After graduating from the Regeneration Program, I knew that God had more in store for me. I decided to stay on for a second year in the Servant Leadership Training Program. It was during this year that I began dealing with my heart and believing that I am who God says I am.

In May 2018 I was offered a position on staff at Waypoint Ministry. I have such a passion for helping men in addiction and this position allows me to show others the true peace of God. Jesus saved my life and now I can show others just what Christ can do for them. Beyond that, I have recently received my GED and plan to attend Christian Bible College at The Church at War Hill.

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6